Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art

Auction 74-
November 9th 2017

The Valmadonna Trust Library To Be Sold At Auction9th November, 2017

The Valmadonna Trust Library has been broadly characterized as the finest private collection of Hebrew Printed Books ever assembled.
Comprising some 13,000 volumes, it was built over more than half a century of prodigious pursuit by its custodian and visionary, the late Jack V. Lunzer.
The library encompasses works from throughout the world, from the earliest Hebrew printed books to later extraordinary rarities and unique copies.

In New York City, February 2009, the entire Library was publicly displayed for the first time, attracting tens of thousands of visitors.
Twelve of the Library's treasures were sold at auction in December 2015 - the celebrated Bomberg Talmud fetching $9.3 million.
The Valmadonna Trust Library was sold in its entirety in January 2017 to the National Library of Israel where it will be housed in a landmark new building in Jerusalem.

Two hundred rarities extracted from the Collection are to be offered for auction sale by Kestenbaum & Company on November 9th, 2017.
Thus allowing collectors and institutional libraries from across the globe a unique opportunity to acquire for themselves extraordinary bibliophilic treasures from this celebrated Collection. Aside from their great rarity, each and every one of these volumes have been beautifully rebound by artisans from England's top binderies and so, are in sumptuous condition. In addition to a wealth of 15th-17th century volumes, the entire reference library of the Valmadonna Trust will be offered for sale as a single lot.

This historic auction will be accompanied by a detailed, illustrated catalogue, which will be available the second week of October.

For further information, to request a catalogue, or for any other queries, please contact Zushye Kestenbaum at 212-366-1197 or Zushye@Kestenbaum.net